The present invention relates to the manufacture of tags and labels, and more particularly to the production of the tags and labels of a type which is difficult to counterfeit.
It is desirable in many commercial applications to employ tags or labels which are unique and which resist illicit duplication. It is well known in many industries that so-called "pirates" will simulate a product using inferior materials and production techniques, and will sell these products at a reduced price. In many cases, such duplicates violate the patent, trademark, or copyright laws as well as the law of unfair competition. Typically, the pirate will mimic the packaging and labelling of goods in order to "pass off" his goods as the product of a well established enterprise. It is therefore desirable to provide tags and labels of a design which may not be easily duplicated, or which if duplicated may be easily detected as fraudulent.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a method of manufacturing tags and labels of a sort which are difficult to duplicate. A related object is the provision of tags and labels of this type which incorporate unique product idenification information. Another related object of the invention is the employment of a tag and label printing technique which is beyond the resources of typical "pirates".
A further object of the invention is the achievement of a pleasing appearance in such tags and labels. It is a related object to provide a versatile range of tag and label formats.